ED 800 Educational Inquiry
Instructor: S. Weiland
Semester: Spring 2012
ED 800 is the introductory course to the online MAED program. It is designed as a foundational course in which various "big" questions are brought to the forefront of our thinking as educators. The course is designed to familiarize students with such things as the history of education, teacher research and theories of curriculum. One of the major themes of the course was "teacher inquiry" where I learn about Vivian Paley. Through her book The Girl with the Brown Crayon, Paley "offers an image of the vocation of teaching--and the uses of inquiry--that is unusual and timely" (Weiland, 2012).
CEP 800 Psychology of Learning in School and Other Settings
Instructor: D. Henriksen and A. Wilcken
Semester: Summer 2012
Right click to listen to interview.
This course focused on using technology interventions that are based on what students know and how they learn. We discovered that while we all understand what the word learning means, it is hard to define. Through our experiences in this course we learned that learning is constructed and defined by the individual participating in the experience. What the learners bring to the setting as well as what the teacher brings will be associated with what the learner eventually learns. CEP 800 integrated technology with the psychology of learning in school and other settings and how technology is related to this process.
TE 849 Methods and Materials for Teaching Children's and Adolescent's Literature
Instructor: L. Apol
Semester: Summer 2012
This course was designed to help students become familiar with a wide range of both authors and illustrators in the fields of children and adolescent literature. This course had us dig deep into our relationships with books by focusing on our history as readers and our responses to literature. We discussed various texts by using specific literary language focusing specifically on literary elements. We explored issues connected to various genres of literature as well as current trends within genres. One of the more complex issues we explored was multicultural literature and it's impact in the classroom. In this reflection I investigate my personal beliefs and feelings on multicultural literature.
TE 842 Elementary Reading Assessment and Instruction
Instructor: M. Block
Semester: Summer 2012
The focus of this course was to help further develop the skills needed to assess and teach reading at the elementary school level. We focused on the characteristics of effective reading instruction and assessment. We began the course by thinking about effective reading teachers, our initial perceptions and misconceptions about teaching reading effectively to elementary aged students. We also explored topics such as student engagement, interest, motivation, fluency as well as vocabulary instruction.
TE 846 Accommodating Differences in Literacy Learners
Instructor: P. Crutcher
Semester: Summer 2012
The purpose of this course was to help students select, modify and design materials, tasks and teaching techniques to meet the needs of a wide variety of learners. These learners come from various cultural and linguistic backgrounds thus the importance of critically evaluating curricula and materials used for literacy instruction. Through various modules we engaged in topics such as motivation and engagement of diverse learners. Word recognition, vocabulary instruction, comprehension instruction, writing instruction and as well as adapting and modifying these for struggling literacy learners were other topics of interest discussed throughout the course.
EAD 861 Adult Learning
Instructor: W. Arnold
Semester: Fall 2012
Click on the image to read my Capstone Project.
The focus of this course was formal and informal adult learning. It was designed to help develop a deeper understanding of learning in adulthood and what the implications are of helping adults learn in a postsecondary environment as well as other learning environments. Through out this course we explored: who adult learners are, why they learn, and how they learn. We surveyed research and theory related to each of these bodies of inquiry to help deepen our understanding of the adult learner.
TE 855 Teaching School Mathematics
Instructor: M. Weiss
Semester: Fall 2012
The purpose of this course was to help teachers of mathematics develop their student's reasoning skills. Too often mathematics is taught as a series of rules and formulas that can be applied to certain mathematics problems. By encouraging children to reason through their mathematical problems students are then able to apply what they already know to what they are learning and make sense of mathematics as a coherent whole.
EAD 866 Teaching in Post Secondary Education
Instructor: J. Dirx, W. Arnold, L. Shelton, J. Mansbach
Semester: Spring 2013
The goal of this course was to familiarize students with major conceptions of teaching in post secondary eduction. We explored a range of teaching techniques and strategies to encourage active and involved learning in postsecondary settings. We explored the design of useful assessments and teacher effectiveness to enhance student learning. We also explored resources for continual professional growth of teachers in the post secondary environment. I also learned the importance of setting up, encouraging and fostering an environment that is conducive for all to learn. In this essay I explore inclusive and diverse learning environments.
TE 836 Awards and Classics in Children's Literature
Instructor: L. Apol
Semester: Summer 2013 - In progress
We will be exploring what it means to be a "classic" book in children's literature. Some of the questions we will be exploring include: What is a classic? What is the author's intent? How does a book become a classic? Which books fit this category? Are these really the best books for children? We will be exploring these questions by examining the books themselves and by having meaningful discussions of these books.
TE 870 Capstone Portfolio Course
Instructor: M. Koehler
Semester: Summer 2013 - In progress
Click to start your own free website!
This course was designed to help implement a website showcasing my growth during my Master's degree program at Michigan State University. While constructing this website not only did I learn about web design but it helped my synthesize my growth as a learner and a student. I was able to organize this information in one location not only accessible to me but to others so that we may continue on our journey as life long learners, while simultaneously incorporating technology.